KPMG WOMEN'S PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

June 25, 2023

Rose Zhang

Baltusrol Golf Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Here with Rose Zhang. The first weekend as a professional at a major, just your overall thoughts?

ROSE ZHANG: It's been incredible. I felt so much support and love from the crowds out here. It's really cool that I was here in New Jersey at Mizuho the last couple weeks, and now I'm here at my first major. Safe to say it's super special, and I took it all in for sure.

Q. Can you tell us a little bit about the atmosphere of being right there on kind of a crazy Sunday with so much going on?

ROSE ZHANG: Yeah, it was definitely very tense. I felt a lot of energy from the crowds. I knew that the groups in front of me and the groups behind me were playing super well, and alongside me Janet was playing amazing, as well. It was just a really fun experience to be in the hunt, especially at my first major.

I've been in position before as an amateur, but this week was pretty special for a little new career start.

Q. I was curious how the nerves felt different being in contention at a major down the stretch.

ROSE ZHANG: Yeah, I guess I feel like it's still golf, so I still felt the same energy as any other event except this is major week, and the golf course is a lot harder. It's playing a lot more difficult. You have to be on your toes at all times. Losing a little bit of focus causes you to have errors, and that's just something you can't afford at a major championship.

But I think that was the different part was just making sure that you're still in the moment and you're still hitting it shot by shot, regardless of what the result is.

Q. What did you learn about yourself this week, maybe something different, compared to what you learned about yourself at Mizuho?

ROSE ZHANG: Well, to be fair, the first week at Mizuho, it felt a little bit just surreal. I didn't feel like I was a professional. I was straight-up coming from NCAAs, and it was kind of just a trial run in my opinion. It was a little start to my career, and I didn't really have any expectations.

Even this week I didn't have any sort of expectations on myself, but at the same time, I wanted to see where my game ended up with the professionals and to really see if I can able to be in contention on a good day, on a bad day, et cetera.

It's really cool to see that my game is there, and I just have to work a little extra harder to play better.

Q. How do you kind of reset and refocus looking ahead to Women's Open but taking this as another positive experience heading to Pebble Beach?

ROSE ZHANG: I learned a lot, especially with Gilly on my bag. It's definitely a different dynamic when you're a professional versus an amateur, and when you're playing your game, you really have to be precise with your numbers, really understand what your swing is doing, and there is no room for error. Therefore I'm excited to keep working on my game and make sure that it's pristine when I go to the U.S. Women's Open at Pebble.

Q. You said today was your best ball-striking day of the week. What do you think made the difference today? Was it you being behind chasing everyone a little bit?

ROSE ZHANG: Maybe a little bit, but I also feel like with the amount of golf that I played, I'm always someone who loves repetition and loves to work on my game. When I have a couple rounds under my belt, I'm able to tap into more of a golf mindset and really just work on my swing or just be in position when I'm playing.

I feel like just playing a little bit more golf this week compared to earlier in the week, it definitely helped me when I was hitting.

Q. You played great but ultimately fell just short. Now that it's all over and the emotions are going through your mind, are you disappointed more, or you're pretty content considering it was your first major start as a professional?

ROSE ZHANG: Yeah, I would say I'm content with the result. I'm not content with how I played. From the beginning of the week, I feel like there's always room to work on things, and I'm really satisfied with my overall performance, but there's little mistakes that I made that you just can't really afford to make.

I felt really confident with my putter the whole day, and the last couple days I feel like that really saved me this entire week. But the last couple holes, putts fell a little short, they lipped out a little bit.

But I'm not too worried about it. I feel very satisfied.

Q. Were you leaderboard watching down the stretch or just thinking about your game?

ROSE ZHANG: I was not leaderboard watching. It's not usually my style when I'm playing. But I did know that I was somewhat in contention. I knew I was one or two shots here and there.

Q. Can you talk about your mental stamina just over the last few days. It's your first major, and then today we had the rain delay. How do you keep yourself in it?

ROSE ZHANG: It's been really solid. I feel like college golf has really prepared me well for a long week. I've been in major weeks before, as well, so I understand that the entire week is just a long game instead of just a sprint.

I feel like especially being out on these difficult golf courses, you really have to stay in the moment, so I really tried my best to do that and prepare my body well after rounds, et cetera.

Q. What do you think about the Rose Buds? What do you think about the name your fans gave themselves?

ROSE ZHANG: I will say I did not make that up, so it's definitely not me who even came up with that idea. My teammates call themselves the Zhang Gang, and once I came back on campus after Mizuho, they were just more arguing about how the Zhang Gang was more the OG or squad or posse. I was just happy to have everyone come out and support. I heard so many cheers and felt so much love and support, it was really incredible.